Dismissed AKT boss Timo Räty will appear in court to face charges of assault and violating safety regulations. The charges arise from a previous series of incidents in which union communications chief Hilkka Ahde accused Räty of workplace harassment.
The charges against Räty were finalized Wednesday, according to Helsinki district prosecutor Tuire Tamminiemi.
“I have laid charges in the case for safety violations and assault,” Tamminiemi told Yle.
Räty's lawyer, Heikki Lampela, said that the news of criminal proceedings came as a surprise to his client, who would deny the charges.
The matter will be tried in the Helsinki District Court.
Last March Räty was suspended by the union council after police launched an investigation into his workplace practices. The investigation itself was prompted by allegations of harassment by then communications chief Hilkka Ahde after she was fired by Räty.
Ahde was later reinstated by the union council, and Räty was dismissed last summer for improperly renting out union property to his then secretary and her mother in perpetuity.